匍匐露珠草 pu fu lu zhu cao

Circaea alpina Linnaeus var. himalaica C. B. Clarke.

Plants 15-100 cm tall, pubescent with falcate hairs, inflorescence with capitate and clavately tipped glandular hairs. Rhizomes with tuberous thickening at apex. Leaves narrowly to broadly ovate, rarely nearly orbicular, 1.8-9 × 1.5-5 cm, base rounded, broadly cuneate, or cordate, margin denticulate, apex acute to shortly acuminate. Inflorescence simple or branched, sometimes also with terminal racemes on upper axillary branches. Flowering pedicels perpendicular to axis of raceme or slightly ascending, with stipitate glandular hairs, with or without a minute bracteole at base. Buds sparsely pubescent, rarely glabrous; floral tube 0.4-0.8 mm. Sepals spreading to reflexed, white, green or reddish tinged, oblong to ovate, 1.8-2.5 × 1.1-1.5 mm, apex gradually rounded to obtuse or acute. Petals white or pink, broadly to narrowly obtriangular in outline, V-shaped, 1.4-2.3 × 1.3-2(-2.9) mm, apical notch 3/4 length of petal. Stamens ca. equal to or shorter than style; nectary inconspicuous, within floral tube. Fruiting pedicel and mature fruit 7.5-15 mm. Fruit narrowly to broadly clavate, 3.5-4.2 × 0.9-1.6 mm, tapering smoothly to pedicel, without prominent ribs and deep sulci, but with a shallow groove representing an extension of pedicel; locule 1, but with trace of a second locule in cross-section. Seed 1. Fl. Jul-Oct, fr. Jul-Nov. 2n = 22.

Moist to wet forests, thickets, and open places; 1500-3300 m. W Hubei, Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Myanmar (one gathering), Nepal, Pakistan (one gathering)].

The fruit of Circaea repens often shows a trace of a second locule in cross-section, but bears only a single seed. In many ways this species is intermediate between species with one and two locules.